Che Guevara Mausoleum - Monument

Monument

"A visit to his memorial, just outside the town of Villa Clara, is a fascinating study in both history and passion. Regardless of your political views or your opinion of the man himself, a tour of Che’s possessions and the photographic chronicle of his life will offer a rare glimpse into one of the world’s longest-standing love affairs between a leader and his people." — Liz Fleming, Northern Life reporter

Work on the complex began in 1982, and it was inaugurated upon completion on December 28, 1988 with Raúl Castro in attendance. The project was conceived by architects Jorge Cao Campos, Blanca Hernández and José Ramón Linares; along with sculptors and José de Lázaro Bencomo and José Delarra (its prime creator). Additionally 500,000 Santa Clara residents contributed more than 400,000 hours of volunteer work in the construction of the sculptural complex, who worked in unison with skilled artisans of the Eliseo Díaz Machado Foundry in Guanabacoa.

Many different aspects of Che's life are represented throughout the complex. For example, his time in Guatemala and at the United Nations is sculpted, while Che's farewell letter to Fidel is inscribed in full. The adjacent decorative wall depicts Che in the Sierra Maestra consulting with Fidel, beside Camilo Cienfuegos, and in the mountains on horseback. Another section shows Che as Minister of Industry performing his usual voluntary work. Lastly literacy tutors, children in schools, and young pioneers are depicted issuing the daily salute that all Cuban children recite each morning "We will be like Che."

The structural complex rests on a rolling hilltop overlooking the city of Santa Clara, and contains a large tiled plaza. At the end of the plaza are two large billboards with quotes by Fidel Castro declaring "Che - it was a star that put you here and made you of this people", and "We want everyone to be like Che." Carved in stone underneath the statue is the well known declaration by Guevara that "One thing I learned in the Guatemala of Arbenz was that if I would be a revolutionary doctor, or just a revolutionary, first there must be a revolution."